“Hey! Don’t you play for the Patriots?” he said, his eyes lightingup.
I felt my shoulders relax. Now this was a topic I could handle. “Ido.”
“Whoa, cool! Could you sign something for me for show andtell?”
“Um… sure.” I looked around for some scrap paper, but before I found anything, he already forgot he had asked me. “You know what? I asked Santa for afootball.”
I glanced up at my dad briefly, then back down at Caleb. “Do you think you’ll getit?”
He nodded. “Oh yeah. I’m definitely on the nice list thisyear.”
Dad’s gaze traveled over to Paige and his smile, though genuine, tightened. Was he just as nervous asme?
“Paige,” he said. “It’s so nice to see youagain.”
Paige nodded. “Merry Christmas, Mr.Wilson.”
He shook his head, his smile relaxing. “How many times do I need to tell you to call meTim?”
She shrugged, but her smile was playful inreturn.
After pulling a large tray from the oven, Olivia came over, wiping her hands on her apron and wrapped her arms around me in a big hug. If she was aware of the tension between us, it didn’t seem to register in the slightest bit. “Taylor,” she said, pulling back and placing her hands on my shoulders. Her smile was warm and kind and it lit up her whole face. She had hardly any makeup on, I noted, but even still, she looked polished and beautiful. But natural. Not the kind of woman I pictured my Dad married to at all. I had pictured him with someone like Tiffany. A trophy wife half his age. But Olivia was Dad’s age, maybe a couple years younger. Nothing about my Dad was turning out like I thought. “I’m so glad you decided to cometonight.”
I cleared my throat. “Yeah. Well, I don’t know if we can stay for dinner,” I said, eyeing Paige. I wasn’t sure how long I could take this. My plan for this whole weekend was baby steps; to dip my toes back into the water that was Maple Grove. But instead, this weekend had been one giant cannonball into the deepend.
Paige nodded, agreeing with me even without me needing to utter a word why. “But we wanted to stop by and wish you all a MerryChristmas.”
“I’m glad you did,” Dad said, smiling at me. “Here, let me introduce you to everyone.” Dad went around the room, introducing me one by one to the entire family—Olivia’s two daughters, their husbands, the various kids. Then, from the dining room, Scott walked out, holding a pile of napkins and a fewforks.
“I don’t know how or why, but when I set the table, I somehow had three extra forks,” Scottsaid.
“And of course, you know Scott,” Dad said. My stomach knotted into a ball. For some reason, seeing Scott here in Dad’s house was stranger than meeting all of Olivia’s kids. Maybe because I felt like a stranger around my own dad here, and he seemed perfectly atease.
I licked my lips and gave Scott anod.
He swallowed, giving me a nervous nod in return. Then, seeing his sister, his face broke out into a grin. “Hey. Glad you guyscame.”
“But we probably won’t stay too long,” Paigeadded.
Scott’s smile tightened. “You have to stay for some wassail at least,” he said. “Olivia makes the best I’ve everhad.”
Paige gasped and squeezed my hand. “It’s true, shedoes.”
How could I argue with that? “Okay, then. A round of wassail,please.”
Her face split with a wide smile and just the sight of it was infectious. I smiled as well, brushing my lips to herforehead.
“Is there a restroom I could use?” In truth, I just needed a moment of quiet to collect myself. There was a lot for me to process. Did I even want a relationship with my dad anymore? I had told myself for years I didn’t, but I couldn’t ignore the fact that he seemed like a new man. And despite all the years of pain and betrayal… I missedhim.
“Upstairs on your left,” Olivia said and pointed to the stairs. “Our downstairs bathroom is underrenovation.”
I took the stairs two at a time and after finishing up, I took a few extra moments to press my cool, wet hands to myforehead.
Fifteen minutes. I just needed to get through fifteen more minutes, and then Paige and I could return to her cabin; our little bubble of happiness where I could close my eyes and pretend that we weren’t here in Maple Grove. I opened the door, fully ready to go back down to the party, when a wall of framed images caught myeye.
There were a range of photos from candid vacation shots of my Dad and Olivia, to wedding pictures. One framed image of them on their wedding day, Olivia in a floor length taupe gown and my dad in a suit. And beside their wedding picture, was a wedding picture of him and my mom. He had his forehead pressed to her cheek and she looked away,laughing.
Emotion clogged in my throat. Mom was still a part of his life. A part of his story and not just hishistory.
